This Raw was the first time in weeks that CM Punk had the microphone all to himself and there was no Roman Reigns to cut him off. CM Punk reminded the fans why he is still the best promo guy in professional wrestling. He was absolutely incredible in the opening promo segment and it was the second time he had cut a Pipebomb Promo after 2011. This very quickly reinstated the feud as the rightful main event of Night 2 for WrestleMania 42 on 19th April 2026.
Let’s discuss the CM Punk Pipebomb on TKO and Roman Reigns
The Pipebomb 2.0
CM Punk started Raw in Houston Texas and the last few days ever since SmackDown have been tense for WWE and the fans. The introduction of Pat McAfee into the main event between Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton has not gone down well with the IWC. They have been posting tweets and angry videos regarding the same. WWE saw the negative reaction and thought that it should make it WWE vs TKO as part of the story. They send CM Punk and he delivers big time. This was easily the best promo he has cut since returning to the WWE. He started the promo by saying that he was emotional to come to Houston Texas because he has had bad memories in this city. Then he went at Roman Reigns and this was the start of the Pipebomb.
CM Punk said that Roman Reigns was a failed NFL player who used his family connections to make it to WWE. Roman Reigns was handed everything to him and the first 8 attempts that he made to become a star had failed. CM Punk said that Roman Reigns was eating food beside a weird old man that was Vince McMahon. The fans were cheering for Ronan Reigns at the start but slowly he turned them mid promo. Punk Said that he will send Ronan Reigns back to Hollywood and he will remain the World Heavyweight Champion. This in itself was a very good promo building the match but then CM Punk became the voice of the voiceless once again. He attacked Pat McAfee verbally and called him Magafee and said that Pat McAfee should call his agent Ari Emmanuel who is also the President of TKO and tell him to lower the ticket prices.
This was something that nobody had expected and this one line turned this into the Second Pipebomb Promo for CM Punk. He said something that was on the minds of every wrestling fan who has not been able to afford tickets because the prices are so high. WrestleMania 42 ticket sales have been low and only 40,000 tickets have been sold for each night. He then said that Pat McAfee had no right to tell him about ticket sales and that a receipt was coming for him. CM Punk then ended his promo with a throwback to The Shield and said that he approved this message. This was absolutely fantastic and this set up the go home episode of Raw where Roman Reigns will also be there and he will surely respond to CM Punk. WWE made the best that they could out of a terrible real life situation with TKO.
